LUNGevity Foundation, Lung Cancer Research Foundation, and Melanoma Research Alliance join forces in first-ever research collaboration
Research into PD-1 Inhibitors to Benefit Patients with Brain Metastases

WASHINGTON, July 9, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- LUNGevity Foundation today announced a partnership with the Lung Cancer Research Foundation and Melanoma Research Alliance to co-fund new innovative research on PD-1 inhibitor treatment options for both non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and metastatic melanoma (MM) patients with brain metastases. The award recipient is Lucia Jilaveanu, M.D., Ph.D., Yale University, for her project Response to PD-1 Inhibitors in Melanoma and Lung Cancer Patients with Brain Metastases.

Though responses to new systematic immune therapies have been encouraging, patients with brain metastases have typically been excluded from clinical trials, leaving them with limited therapeutic options. Of those diagnosed with NSCLC and MM, approximately 50,000 patients every year develop brain metastases.

This first-ever research collaboration between lung cancer and melanoma funders reflects the shared urgency on this issue. Individuals with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have the highest incidence of brain metastases among all cancers, and melanoma has the highest likelihood to metastasize to the brain once the disease has spread.

"LUNGevity Foundation is thrilled to collaborate with Melanoma Research Alliance and the Lung Cancer Research Foundation to tackle a serious concern that affects both of our communities," said LUNGevity Foundation President Andrea Stern Ferris. "Immunotherapy is one of the most promising new fields of medical science. To expand this advancement to lung cancer patients with brain metastases could open a whole world of treatment to 50,000 people every year who have not yet been able to access this vital therapy."

About 60 percent of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, taking more lives annually in the U.S. than the next top three cancers combined.

Only 17% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it's caught before it spreads, the chance for 5-year survival improves dramatically.

About LUNGevity Foundation

LUNGevity Foundation is firmly committed to making an immediate impact on increasing quality of life and survivorship of people with lung cancer by accelerating research into early detection and more effective treatments, as well as by providing community, support, and education for all those affected by the disease. Our vision is a world where no one dies of lung cancer. For more information about LUNGevity Foundation, please visit www.LUNGevity.org.

About the Melanoma Research Alliance

MRA has dedicated more than $60 million to research seeking to better prevent, diagnose, and treat melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer. The organization is poised to build on recent momentum in the field, accelerating the pace of scientific discovery and translation in order to eliminate suffering and death due to melanoma. MRA's ability to fund wide-ranging research in melanoma is amplified by unique multi-faceted collaborations and partnerships with individuals, private foundations, and corporations. For more information, please visit www.CureMelanoma.org.

About Lung Cancer Research Foundation

The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) was founded in 2005 with the goal of providing critical funding to promising and innovative research projects that will lead to more effective early detection, treatment and a cure for all cancers of the lung.

For more information about the Lung Cancer Research Foundation, go to www.lungfund.org.